2026 CAM overcharge report: what the data shows

In short: A broad market rate cannot predict one CAM bill. Check the fee base, share, caps, and barred costs. Use the lease and bill.

"I built CAMAudit to compare each billed rule with the lease. The report shows the clause, statement line, and math for partner review." - Angel Campa, Founder of CAMAudit

What the 40% source says

CAMAudit has no checked rate for all CAM bills. Do not use one broad rate. It cannot promise a file result.

The lease sets review steps. Read its due date when the bill comes. State law may add a limit. Ask counsel to check legal dates.

Error Type 1: Management Fee Overcharge

Check: Check the billed rate and fee base. Match both to the lease.

A fee error means the bill breaks the lease. The rate or base is wrong.

The overcharge occurs when the property management company applies a fee rate above the contractual cap, calculates the fee on a broader base than the lease permits, or includes management fee amounts that belong to other properties in the building's expense pool.

Example: A lease caps the fee at 4% of the cost pool. The bill uses 5%. On $500,000, the one-year gap is $5,000. Three years with the same facts is $15,000. The lease and law set the review years.

Write down the lease rate and fee base. Add the billed rate and base.

Check: Use the lease space numbers to redo the share.

A pro-rata error means the bill used the wrong share. The lease sets which space numbers to use. Check both numbers.

Some leases define the denominator as total gross leasable area (GLA). Others use a different measurement standard. Some exclude anchor tenant space from the denominator. Some include or exclude parking structures. When the property management company applies the wrong denominator, every year's allocation is wrong.

Public audit examples show why denominator errors matter: a single pro-rata share mistake can repeat across every expense category and every reconciliation year until corrected. The error is not in the annual rate: it is in the base denominator, which compounds the overcharge across the lease term.

Pro-rata share errors are particularly significant because they affect every category of CAM expense simultaneously. If the denominator is 5% too small, every line item in the tenant's CAM bill is 5% too high. The compounding effect makes these errors expensive even when the percentage error is relatively small.

Error Type 3: Gross-Up Violations

Check: Apply gross-up only as the lease allows.

A gross-up rule adjusts some costs for site use. The lease says which costs and rate to use. Check the bill math against that rule.

The provision is legitimate. The errors happen in the application.

Common gross-up violations:

Applying gross-up to non-variable expenses. Fixed costs like property taxes, insurance premiums, and management fees do not change based on occupancy. Grossing them up to 100% occupancy creates fictional expenses that tenants should not pay.

Using the wrong use rate. Use the rate in the lease. Do not assume a set rate. Check the site facts and bill math.

Incorrect calculation of the variable component. The gross-up formula normalizes only the variable portion of eligible expenses, not the total expense. Grossing up the full line item instead of the variable portion inflates the calculation.

Error Type 4: CAM Cap Violations

Check: Use the lease to redo the cap math.

A lease may cap CAM. It may use a fixed rate, an index, or a cost list. Read the exact clause.

A cap error means the bill went past the lease cap. The billing app may not add that cap. Check it for each lease.

The compounding structure of caps creates additional complexity. A cumulative cap (where unused cap capacity carries forward) calculates differently from a simple annual cap. If the property manager applies a simple cap formula to a cumulative cap lease, or vice versa, the error compounds across multiple years.

Error Type 5: Base Year Errors

Check: Verify the base year and each allowed adjustment.

Base year leases calculate tenant CAM charges as the amount by which current-year expenses exceed the base year expenses. If the base year is set too low, the tenant overpays in every subsequent year. If non-recurring or one-time expenses were excluded from the base year that should have been included, the ongoing expense comparisons are distorted.

A lease may limit when a client can raise an old bill. State law may add a limit. Ask counsel to check both dates.

Error Type 6: Excluded Expense Pass-Throughs

Check: Compare every exclusion with the lease.

Each lease has its own rules. It may bar or spread a capital cost. Read the exact term before you label the charge.

Possible exclusions include overhead, vacant-space work, legal fees, and costs for other properties. The lease controls.

A barred cost error means the bill has a cost the lease bars. Check each cost. Use the signed lease.

The investigation required to find these errors is more intensive than a management fee or pro-rata calculation check. It requires reviewing the underlying ledger at the line-item level and comparing each expense category to the lease's exclusion list.

How Errors Actually Happen

The audit checks the bill, not intent. A mismatch may come from bad data or a bad rule. It may also come from the wrong cost share.

Lease provisions not programmed correctly. When a new tenant moves in or a lease renews, someone at the property management company needs to enter the tenant's specific lease provisions into the property management software. Management fee caps, CAM caps, gross-up thresholds, and pro-rata share definitions all need to be configured per tenant. When provisions are entered incorrectly or incompletely, the software bills incorrectly from day one.

Software configuration that drifts from lease requirements. Even when correctly configured initially, software configurations change. System upgrades, staff turnover, and portfolio acquisitions all create opportunities for configurations to be reset or overwritten.

One cost-share rule used for many leases. A billing team may use one rule for many sites. Check each bill against its own lease.

A wrong share setup may affect more than one bill. Check each year with the lease facts.

What Tenants Actually Recover

Recovery depends on three factors: the type of error, the size of the claim, and how much lease term remains.

Type of error. A clear math error may be easy to show. A rule that needs legal review may take more work. Do not promise a recovery.

Time left on the lease. The lease term may shape the talks. It does not prove what the landlord will do. Ask counsel to guide the plan.

Give the client clear proof. Show the lease term, bill line, and math. Do not promise a credit or fix.

A Note from Angel

I built CAMAudit because the math here is deterministic. Management fee caps are either honored or they are not. Pro-rata denominators are either correct under the lease or they are not. The calculations are not subjective. What was missing was a tool that could run these checks systematically, at a price that makes annual review economically sensible for tenants who are not running multi-million-dollar portfolios.

Partners set their own client fees. Model the fee with pack cost, staff time, and scope. Do not use an old market price as proof.

Use one clear rule. Match the bill to the lease. Keep the math. Save each source.

For the full methodology behind what CAMAudit checks, see CAM Audit Methodology. For the step-by-step process of running a lease review, see the Commercial Lease Audit Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What published CAM error estimate does this report use?

No one checked rate can predict a file result. Check the lease, CAM bill, and source files first.

Does a CAM audit determine intent?

No. The audit compares the bill with the lease. It can show a mismatch, but it does not prove why the mismatch happened.

Which CAM errors can repeat across years?

A wrong base year or pro-rata share can affect more than one bill. Rebuild each year with the lease inputs. Do not assume the same amount repeats.

How far back can I audit my CAM charges?

The lease sets its review window. State law may add a limit. Read both before you pick the years. Ask counsel to check legal dates.

Can a firm run a CAM audit in-house, or does it need specialized software?

Some firms run the check in house. Each job needs the signed lease and all changes. It needs each CAM bill in scope. The team must check the math against the lease. CAMAudit runs those checks. Without it, the team does each check by hand. A landlord cost list may need a formal request under the lease. Ask counsel to check a rights-sensitive request.